Busan Youth Startup Breaks Into Dolce & Gabbana Supply Chain... Korea's First Commercial Digital Product Passport Launched

Dataspira Signs Supply Contract with Italian Apparel Company


Responding to EU's Mandatory Digital Product Passport


Growth Driven by Technology Transfer from KAIST Busan Innovation Research Center

Technology developed in Korea to respond to the European Union (EU)'s new product regulations is being incorporated into the supply chains of leading global fashion companies. A youth-owned company in Busan has partnered with the renowned Italian apparel brand Dolce & Gabbana to launch the nation’s first commercial Digital Product Passport (DPP) service.

On October 6, the city of Busan (Mayor Jeon Jae-soo) announced that local youth startup Dataspira Co., Ltd. has launched Korea’s first commercial DPP service and signed a supply contract with Dolce & Gabbana.

The Digital Product Passport is a technology that digitally manages information throughout all stages of a product’s lifecycle, from production to distribution, use, and finally disposal and recycling. The EU is expanding the mandatory application of DPP for different product categories from 2026 in order to manage resource recycling and supply chain transparency.

Starting last year, Dataspira has engaged in a competitive Proof-of-Concept (PoC) process with Dolce & Gabbana and companies from various countries. Following this, Dataspira signed the final supply contract on April 9, officially commencing full-scale commercial service.

This contract marks the achievement of a local Korean company’s technology being deployed as an effective service to respond to European product-related regulations. The EU’s application of DPP will be extended from steel products in 2026 to batteries, textiles, clothing, aluminum, and furniture in 2027, and further to mattresses and electronic products in 2029.

Dataspira’s growth has been supported by technical assistance from the KAIST Auto-ID Lab Busan Innovation Research Center, jointly established by Busan City and KAIST. The company, a youth startup founded in the region in 2024, received support in digital transformation standard technology from this research center, which Busan City attracted in 2022. In July, Dataspira launched a product certified by the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) and has now brought the DPP service into actual commercial use.

The Busan Innovation Research Center is the international joint research institute of GS1, a leading global standardization organization for digital transformation. It conducts collaborative research on standardization and technology advancement for digital transformation, involving institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), ETH Zurich, the University of Cambridge, and leading global logistics companies.

The research center leverages its collaborative research-based technology to support education, technology commercialization, and overseas market expansion for local companies. The city of Busan anticipates that the commercialization of DPP will also aid the efforts of local firms to enter the European market. With the successful trial Arctic shipping route between Busan Port and the Port of Rotterdam completed on September 12, there is increased interest in expanding logistics and trade with Europe, and local companies have now secured technology to respond to international regulations.

Busan plans to further expand the use of DPP technology by integrating it with artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize supply chains and provide customized services. Amid increasing global supply chain uncertainty, technology for transparent management of product data and distribution history is expected to assist in the digital transformation of the region's industries.

Jeon Jae-soo, Mayor of Busan, explained the recent achievement, saying, "This is the result of the outstanding artificial intelligence technology and spirit of challenge shown by local youth-run startups." The mayor added, "We will actively support the integration of AI technology with the regional industry and encourage daring technology startups utilizing artificial intelligence in cooperation with local universities and institutions."

Busan City Hall.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.